Welcome

Welcome to the "Friends of Piute Ponds (FOPP)" web site. The purpose of this site is to highlight the beauty and value of Piute Ponds and provide a forum for educators, birders, photographers, hunters, hikers, and other recreationists to obtain information and volunteer for different projects or help develop volunteer projects. We strive for volunteer support similar to that at Arcata Marsh www.arcatamarshfriends.org. This site encourages contact with Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB) regarding Piute Ponds. EAFB, Environmental Management is participating with FOPP on this web site.

Mike San Miguel

Special update July 16, 2010. After hearing of the passing of Mike San Miguel, we are posting this tribute:

"Mike San Miguel, worked tirelessly as a main member of the Friends for Piute Wetlands as Piute Ponds struggled through its darkest hour.  He contributed enormously to the knowledge of this marsh. His friends miss him already."

To see his page Click here.

Piute Ponds is the largest freshwater marsh in Los Angeles County (see aerial photo below). The area supports a diversity of flora and fauna.  The convergence of two mountain ranges (San Gabriel to the south and Tehacapi to the north), the Mojave Desert, coastal influence, and beneath the Pacific Flyway provides a mixture of diverse migratory birds. 

click here for special, rare sightings

The ponds and surrounding area are unique within the Antelope Valley and provide a recreational resource for the surrounding communities.  The Piute Ponds Complex is designated a Significant Ecological Area (SEA) for Los Angeles County. 

An Alkali Mariposa Lily Conservation area is proposed in the Draft West Mojave Plan and borders the Piute Ponds Complex .

In addition to its ecological value, Piute Ponds is recognized for its recreational and educational opportunities.  The most popular activities at Piute Ponds are bird watching, photography, and waterfowl hunting.  The area is used all year by Branch Elementary School as an outdoor laboratory. Other local schools also use the area for educational purposes.

Over 250 species of birds have been documented at the Piute Ponds Complex.  In 2004 the National Audubon Society designated the Ponds as an "Important Bird Area of California."  Piute Ponds is one of a few areas in the state supporting a successful White faced Ibis rookery.  Black Crowned Night Herons and Great Blue Herons breed at the ponds regularly.  Mike San Miguel documented the most southern breeding range extension of Buffle Head at Piute Ponds.